1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system for controlling the operation of remote devices linked by wireless communication, and more specifically, to system of controlling the operation of a remote device wirelessly communicating using a second wireless medium by scanning the remote device with a first wireless medium.
2. Description of Prior Art
Modern society has quickly adopted, and become reliant upon, handheld devices for wireless communication. For example, cellular telephones continue to proliferate in the global marketplace due to technological improvements in both the quality of the communication and the functionality of the devices. These wireless communication devices (WCDs) have become commonplace for both personal and business use, allowing users to transmit and receive voice, text and graphical data from a multitude of geographical locations. The communication networks utilized by these devices span different frequencies and cover different broadcast distances, each having strengths desirable for various applications.
Cellular networks facilitate WCD communication over large geographic areas. These network technologies have commonly been divided by generations, starting in the late 1970s to early 1980s with first generation (1G) analog cellular telephones that provided baseline voice communications, to the now emerging 4G streaming digital video content planned for the 2006-2007 timeframe. GSM is an example of a widely employed 2G digital cellular network communicating in the 900 MHZ-1.8 GHZ band in Europe and at 1.9 GHZ in the United States. This network provides voice communication and also supports the transmission of textual data via the Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMS allows a WCD to transmit and receive text messages of up to 160 characters, while providing data transfer to packet networks, ISDN and POTS users at 9.6 Kbps. The Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), an enhanced messaging system allowing for the transmission of sound, graphics and video files in addition to simple text, has also become available in certain devices. Soon emerging technologies such as Digital Video Broadcasting for Handheld Devices (DVB-H) will make streaming digital video, and other similar content, available via direct broadcast to a WCD. While long-range communication networks like GSM are a well-accepted means for transmitting and receiving data, due to cost, traffic and legislative concerns, these networks may not be appropriate for all data applications.
Short-range wireless networks provide communication solutions that avoid some of the problems seen in large cellular networks. Bluetooth™ is an example of a short-range wireless technology quickly gaining acceptance in the marketplace. A Bluetooth™ enabled WCD transmits and receives data at a rate of 720 Kbps within a range of 10 meters, and may transmit up to 100 meters with additional power boosting. A user does not actively instigate a Bluetooth™ network. Instead, a plurality of devices within operating range of each other will automatically form a network group called a “piconet”. Any device may promote itself to the master of the piconet, allowing it to control data exchanges with up to seven “active” slaves and 255 “parked” slaves. Active slaves exchange data based on the clock timing of the master. Parked slaves monitor a beacon signal in order to stay synchronized with the master, and wait for an active slot to become available. These devices continually switch between various active communication and power saving modes in order to transmit data to other piconet members. In addition to Bluetooth™ other popular short-range wireless networks include WLAN (of which “Wi-Fi” local access points communicating in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard, is an example), WUSB, UWB, etc. All of these wireless mediums have features and advantages that make them appropriate for various applications.
Wireless communications devices incorporating some or all of the previously discussed features are powerful tools for increasing productivity. These single devices may be employed to accomplish tasks that once required a plurality of individual devices working together to complete. Telephone, email, instant messaging, Internet browsers, facsimile, audio and video recording, audio and video playback, word processing, scheduling, contact managers, conferencing tools and various other applications are all encompassed in one small package. A compact device size in this case is advantageous in terms of transporting the device, but this reduced size sometimes hampers the usability of the device, and will prompt a user to want to temporarily integrate other ancillary devices with the primary WCD to aid in the usability of the aforementioned applications and the productivity of the user.
An accessory device for a WCD originally required physical attachment for use, for example, a cable or wire. The limited amount of physical connection ports on a compact WCD restricted the use of these accessories to one or maybe two at a time, and necessarily entailed an entanglement of inconvenient wires. As the technology developed, wireless communication mediums like Bluetooth™ were developed as a replacement for these wires. Now a WCD could maintain an active connection with a plurality of satellite accessory devices without the physical constraints of communications cables or wires.
As communication technologies like Bluetooth™ mature, the applications for these types of short-range mediums continue to expand. Now, not only may a user have a plurality of remote accessory devices wirelessly connected to a WCD, but also active communications with other wireless communication devices like the encounter cellular handsets, of other users and wireless access points for distributing information may occur. As a result, a WCD may quickly become overwhelmed by the amount of simultaneous wireless activity being conducted over a certain medium, and therefore, performance will suffer for all transactions. The user may attempt to manually maintain the activity and connection status of all these devices, but current systems for connection management requires the use of cumbersome interfaces that somewhat defeat the advantages gained through the wireless communication.
Therefore, what is needed is a system to allow a user to simply manage the operational modes of various remote devices connected wirelessly to a WCD. This operational management should not require the manipulation of various configuration and control menus in the WCD and/or remote device, but instead should instantly allow a mode change in one or both devices depending on physical relationship between the devices, such as the proximity of the remote device to the WCD. The mode change should be acknowledged by the remote device and/or the WCD through some sort of audible or visual signal. The current mode of the remote device and/or WCD should be determinable by the mode change indicator.